Administrators in the Waverly Central School District have been fielding complaints all weekend after students involved in a Friday pep rally staged a skit critics say was racist and made light of domestic violence.

The issue is getting some national attention after a Waverly High School graduate posted a story on the CNN iReport website early Monday.

Three white students wearing blackface put on the skit, according to the post by 2006 graduate Matt Dishler, with two of the students representing singer Rihanna and her former boyfriend, entertainer Chris Brown, who were involved in a highly publicized domestic violence case in 2009.

A photo posted with the story shows one male restraining another male, with a student portraying Rihanna cowering on the floor. Students and others sitting on the bleachers in the background appear to be smiling and laughing as they watch the skit.

Dishler said he didn’t attend the rally, but heard about it from friends. After confirming the information, he decided to post an opinion piece.

“I can testify there’s not a lot of racial diversity in that school whatsoever. We’re not really exposed to that at that school,” Dishler said. “I felt like something should have been done about this. I don’t believe the kids had any vicious intentions, but the administrators should have said that’s not exactly OK.”

Waverly Superintendent Joseph Yelich said he was not aware that the students were planning to do the skit, but he has received plenty of complaints since then.

“The Waverly School District is committed to creating a positive atmosphere through all activities,” Yelich said. “I’ll be working with building administration, staff and students to develop future activities consistent with that commitment.

“There is a set of concerns that a number of individuals have had, and we want to address those concerns,” Yelich said. “I want to be sure administration and staff and students know what our expectations are.”

Yelich did not indicate what if any specific actions would result from Friday’s pep rally.
A New Hope Center, an Owego-based agency that assists victims of domestic and sexual violence, hate crimes, rape and other abuse, is already working with the Waverly School District on bullying issues, according to Assistant Director Francis J. Bialy.

Bialy wasn’t aware of Friday’s pep rally, but he said, in general, it’s disturbing to try to find humor in grave issues such as domestic violence.

“If it’s intended to be humorous or putting down people, it further perpetuates permission to engage in such behavior,” Bialy said.

“When you look at issues with race, the same thing holds true. If people act in racist ways or support racist behavior, they tell other people it’s OK to act racist.

“I hesitate to judge the intent of something,” Bialy said.

“There’s also a dynamic that well-intentioned actions are done without a full sense of understanding that also end up being damaging as well. I think it should be looked at.”

Dishler said he is still proud of his former high school and didn’t want to be too critical.

“I believe they will take steps to cure it. I just think sometimes things need to be brought to light,” Dishler said.

“(Domestic violence) is nothing to joke about. I wanted people to know this mistake was made and can we please rectify it so it doesn’t happen again.”

Pitch Perfect is a film that tells the underdog tale of a nearly-defunct a capella group, the Barden Bellas, rising through the collegiate ranks again and reclaiming former glory. It also features not one, but two East Asian female characters, providing writers with ample “Asians and music” stereotypes to riff off of, such as the piano-playing prodigy or Asians with perfect pitch (this movie is called Pitch Perfect; would this not have been the most perfect stereotype to use?).React to this

But instead of the brilliant Asian musicians that I thought might grace the screen, I instead found myself looking not at two characters but two caricatures, with a world of missed opportunities to draw on positive stereotypes. This isn’t to say that the usage of positive racial stereotypes is much better than the negative ones; it’s just that if writers are going to insist on reducing ethnic characters to easily digestible, tired tropes, I’d rather have them draw on one of the “positive” stock stereotypes over the negative ones. With limited visibility of Asian Americans in the media, you want the few instances where you do get represented to be positive.

In a time where Asian Americans are slowly making their way into pop culture with roles that don’t pigeonhole them–Lucy Liu in Elementary, Mindy Kaling in The Mindy Project, John Cho in Go On–the role of Lilly takes Asian Americans a step back. All we see is a rehashed, played-out representation of the meek and submissive Asian woman. Asians as a whole are a feminized race, and yet Asian women bear the double burden of simultaneously existing to two groups that are both supposed to be submissive. We see the product of this double burden in Lilly, expected to be so docile as both an Asian and a woman that she can barely even speak.

There’s also the issue of Lilly just being plain weird; this is not the cutesy, “aren’t I adorable”-weird that Zooey Deschanel gets to play week after week in New Girl but just flat-out weird. The first time I managed to catch one of Lilly’s whispered lines is when she reveals that she ate her twin in the womb. Earlier in the film, she makes a snow angel in a puddle of vomit. This type of strange behavior, though I’m sure comical to some, only serves to portray her as even more of an oddity. She becomes wholly unrelatable to movie-going audiences due to the combination of her eccentricity and lack of audible speech. This portrayal of Lilly as someone unrelatable only feeds into the Otherization of Asians as a foreign, strange race, one very different from the white women in the movie.

Enter Kimmy Jin (Jinhee Joung), the Korean roommate of protagonist Becca (Anna Kendrick). If the Dragon Lady trope was watered down and embodied in an 18-year old college roommate-from-hell, it would take the form of Kimmy Jin. Though the movie only draws on the “cold and mean” aspects of the Dragon Lady, it draws on it pretty hard. Kimmy spends the majority of her screen time glowering at Becca, spurning any friendly advances she makes, and associating only with her brethren from the Korean Student Association.

Kimmy is initially so unrelentingly cold and silent towards Becca, that Becca even questions her ability to speak English. Hey Becca, here’s a thought: maybe Kimmy hates you because you assume she can’t speak English based on her race. Becca the protagonist also has a strange compulsion to refer to her roommate by her full name. It’s almost as though she’s afraid the viewers will forget Kimmy isn’t white if she just uses her first name. We get it–she’s Korean. You can just call her Kimmy.

What we end up walking away with from Pitch Perfect are two poor, highly limiting representations of Asian women in film. Asian women are either quiet to the point of having a speech pathology or, if they can talk, they are still cold and won’t say much to you. Either way, they are shown as being different, with that difference solidly rooted in their race.

They really have to be the center of attention in everything, don't they? Even when the story doesn't concern them, they just have to be center of attention. You should see some of the facebook responses people are screencapping over this situation

The Orphan of Zhao: RSC casts Asians as dogs and maid in Chinese classic

The news that the revered Royal Shakespeare Company has not only given a measly three out of 17 roles in their production of the Chinese classic, The Orphan of Zhao, to Asian actors, but that these parts are for two dogs and a maid, has quite gasted my flabber. None of the main roles are played by Asians.[EDIT: two of the three asians and one black actor are working ONE puppet dog.]

We've been rowing about this for months alongside Anglo-Chinese actor and Equity BAME representative Daniel York who is leading the charge. [Edit: Daniel says the third out of three demon dogs is a black actor while all the main roles are white. WTF with the non-white non-human depictions?] His attempts to elicit a grown-up response from the RSC and the Arts Council have so far resulted in a condescending brush-off and a reprimand from the powers-that-be.

Yes, cross-racial casting is a wonderful idea— the problem is that it's all one-way traffic. What happened to diversity? Note the use of a Chinese kid in their promo material (above). If they actually had the courage of their questionable conviction, they'd surely have illustrated their wares with one of their leading actors. Instead, they lack the smarts to understand why courting Chinese audiences is going down like a cup of cold sick. They want our money but not us, and certainly not our involvement as equals in this Vale of Tears.

here is the ultimate insult: a website in Chinese trying to attract Chinese Audience. the racist only want their money not their acting abilities and allowing them to tell their stories about their Ancestral Country

It's a shame that writer James Fenton, who has an impressive track-record as a progressive, has allowed the casting of his adaptation to be done along such colonialist lines. I always thought he was an anti-imperialist and all that entails.

I doubt we'd see the pillars of the culture pulling these stunts with the African-Caribbean or south Asian communities because they know they'd be exposed as something akin to white supremacists perpetuating dominance of the culture instead of using public funds to advance our consciousness beyond its current sorry state and represent everyone fairly.

here is the casting

This is a Chinese classic from the Yuan period thought to have been penned by the 13th century writer Ji Junxiang (紀君祥). Not much known about Ji Junxiang. He was born in present day Beijing and wrote six plays. Only one of his works has survived and that is Yuanbao yuan Zhao shi gu'er - The (great) Revenge of the orphan Zhao ca. 1330 (趙氏孤兒大報仇). This was the first zaju, (Chinese: “mixed drama or play”) to have been translated into the western tongue.

This was one of the major Chinese dramatic forms. Originating as a short variety play from Northern China during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) and during the Yuan dynasty (1206–1368) it developed into a mature four-act dramatic form, in which songs alternate with dialogue.

Out of a cast size of 17 only 3 BEA (British East Asian) have been cast. The three actors that have been cast in the production should be exceedingly proud of their achievement.
But only 3 out of a potential 17!. There are approximately 75 BEA actors and 82 BEA actress all of varying experience, training and expertise. You cannot tell me that from this pool the RSC could not have found at least two major male and female roles for the production?
If this was an adaptation of Liongo I doubt very much whether the Black Afro-Caribbean acting community would idly stand by as the major or pivotal roles were taken by Caucasian actors. I doubt very much whether the RSC when casting such a venture would ever dream of not casting black actors in such a production. So when then should we be any different? Why are the British-Chinese/East Asian not afford the same cultural, ethnic and racial considerations as our fellow Black Afro-Carribean and South Asian colleagues?
Are we so little thought of us? Are we that invisible and inconsequential to the society and the country of which we are citizens?
Yet our culture, our writing our art take pride of place in institutions around the UK. It is almost Pythonesque ...
And what have the Chinese ever given us in return?
Row -planting
Oh yeah, yeah they gave us that. Yeah. That's true.
And The Compass
Oh yes... the compass, Reg, you remember what navigating around used to be like.
All right, I'll grant you that Row -planting and the compass are two things that the Chinese have done...
And the seed drill...
(sharply) Well yes obviously the seed drill... the compass go without saying. But apart from the row-planting, the compass and the seed drill...
Iron Ploughs, Ships rudder
Harness for horses, Gunpowder, Porcelain, Toilet paper, Print - moveable type

'“To right an injustice, no sacrifice is too great.” While this concept doesn’t quite sit right with our modern sensibilities, it’s the underlying theme of the Chinese play “The Orphan of Zhao” ( 赵氏孤儿), the origins of which can be traced back to 600-500 B.C.'

The Racist Brothers aka WB continuing thier project of remaking "All you need is kill" with no Japanese actors in sight

Bill Paxton In Talks To Join ALL YOU NEED IS KILL
Read more at http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/BatFreak/news/?a=67488#BFg0D3GIkLMFLM2h.99

Hatfields & McCoys actor Bill Paxton is in negotiations to join Tom Cruise in Warner Bros.' upcoming adaptation of the sci-fi graphic novel All You Need Is Kill, which will be directed by Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity). Read on for more details.
Paul Romano - 9/18/2012

Bill Paxton recently wrapped production on Universal Pictures' graphic novel adaptation 2 Guns, but now he's eying another comic book based film. Variety reports that Hatfields & McCoys actor Bill Paxton is in negotiations for a key role in Warner Bros.' upcoming graphic novel adaptation All You Need Is Kill, which has Tom Cruise attached to star and Doug Liman set to direct. Emily Blunt and Charlotte Riley are also starring in the science fiction film. The story follows a soldier (played by Cruise) reliving his last day in a war against aliens over and over again. According to the site, Paxton is playing the tough leader of Cruise's platoon. The film is expected to begin production in London later this fall.

No release date for All You Need Is Kill has been announced yet, but Warner Bros. should (hopefully) announce one in the near future. Below is a plot summary of the graphic novel:

There’s one thing worse than dying. It’s coming back to do it again and again… When the alien Gitai invade, Keiji Kiriya is just one of many raw recruits shoved into a suit of battle armor and sent out to kill. Keiji dies on the battlefield, only to find himself reborn each morning to fight and die again and again. On the 158th iteration though, he sees something different, something out of place: the female soldier known as the Bitch of War. Is the Bitch the key to Keiji’s escape, or to his final death?

Hollywood continuing their war on non-whites movie adaptation of a Comic where the lead is a Latino. It's time that non-whites boycott hollywood

Green Lantern’s Ryan Reynolds will be playing Nick Walker - renamed from Nick Cruz - a police officer killed in the line of duty who is subsequently assigned to the R.I.P.D. - the Rest in Peace Department.

The department is staffed by a team of late police officers and detectives who, as punishment for certain sins in life, are tasked with hunting down demons, fiends, lost souls and other ne’er-do-wells.

Nick must play along with the department while he hunts down the fiend who framed and murdered him in life, his only chance for redemption and ascent.

Also on board are Jeff Bridges, Kevin Bacon, Stephanie Szostak, and, most recently, Mary-Louise Parker who has been tapped to play the part of the department chief, and thusly will spend most of her time explaining to Ryan Reynolds how the department works.

The original story is a bit abstract, and apparently the film reflects that.

"It’s going to be fun and strange," said Bridges, whose character is Walker’s partner on his new beat. "This movie is really out there. We’re a couple of dead cops looking for dead people who are pretending to be alive."

R.I.P.D. - directed by Robert Schwentke - will begin primary photography soon, and is slated to hit theaters in 2013.

But Sam Liu, campaign manager for candidate Jay Chen, sent the Weekly a message he received on Oct. 13 in response to a bulk email asking voters to support Chen's race for the 39th congressional district against incumbent Republican Ed Royce.

The email response was from former Costa Mesa attorney Anthony Kassas, and it was laced with brutally racist remarks.

Specifically, it read:

"Fuck off chink. I'd never vote for a slant eyed gook. Asians are trying to take over out (sic) country so why would I want to vote for a slope. Fuck off and die. I hope you get cancer of the eyes and testicles. Leave me alone.

Thank you,

Anthony Kassas

Sent from my iPhone. please excuse any typos."

Sadly for staffers of the Chen campaign, this isn't the only unpleasantness they've had to endure. Recently, several posters were ripped from the front of their Fullerton headquarters, and tasteless signs have been popping up around town including one that reads "Vote for the American" and "Is Jay Chen a Closet Commie?"

Until last year, Kassas operated a law firm that shared a common lobby with the Weekly's offices. On Aug. 18, 2011, agents with the California Department of Justice raided the office, shuttered its doors and placed the practice in receivership. Attorney General Kamala Harris alleged that Kassas's legal practice was, in fact, a scheme to dupe underwater mortgage holders into signing up for a bogus lawsuit against banks like Chase and Bank of America.

This morning the Weekly sent an email to the address supplied by the Chen campaign. We asked Kassas if he would comment on his recent troubles with the Department of Justice and the California Bar Association. Within minutes, Kassas responded and asked what our questions were. The Weekly then sent a copy of the racially filled text asking for comment as well as a follow up request. As of press time, he hadn't replied to that or a subsequent request for comment.

After Kassas was forced to leave his office, he tried unsuccesffuly to to have his practice removed from state receivership. A visit to the California Bar website indicates that as of December 2011, he hasn't been eligible to practice law in the state.

Documents posted on the Bar's website chronicle hundreds of counts involving either gross negligence or moral turpitude related to his now defunct practice as well as the violation of a protective order filed against him in Los Angeles County. We contacted his former girlfriend, who declined to elaborate on specifics and didn't want to be identified, but confirmed that she filed a restraining order against him.

You seem to be very passionate about this but honestly I don't see what your aim is. Most of what you have posted says the same thing without really opening up any type of discussion.

The problem with racism nowadays is that it's a lot more subtle and often people don't challenge it because it's seen as a joke or it's done with supposed good intentions. A lot of what you posted highlights another type of supposedly "harmless" discrimination that goes on nowadays where instead of attacking the race or culture, it is dismissed, downplayed or completely ignored as if to say it has no significance and no importance. Hollywood has many more issues other than racism with many groups of people that are often misrepresented and stereotyped and it's certainly not a place anyone should base their values. Also racism is present in many other parts of our society and can come from any race and ethnic group.

A lot of what you posted seem to suggest that there is such a thing as a racist race and anyone belonging to this race who denies this is just making excuses and anyone who is racist but doesn't belong to this race has simply been influenced or brainwashed by this race. This I have an issue with and I hope you can see why.

hollywood have no problem hiring black women has maids, nannies and mammies in movies like the Help, and in other movies as sexual playthings and love interests for the white male leads which are mostly sexual fantasies. when it comes to make a movie based on the life of a Black woman Jazz singer Nina Simone who contribute to American Society the Hollywood chapter of the Klu Klux Klan choose a white looking, light sinned woman dressing her up in prosthetics to portray Nina Simone.